Carfax Limitations

[William Magliocco]

Carfax gets most of its data through DMV files.  But
your situtation with the Jetta points up a major
shortcoming-cars with $$$ damage that are NOT total
losses.  This is especially true with the newest cars
on the road:

Your situation points out a 2 m.y. old car.  Mr.
Serban tried to sell me a car that was 4 m.y. old when
it was "totalled".  My '93 100 was 9 m.y. old when it
was "totalled".

The older the car, the easier it is for the insurance
company to do the "last rites".

In my case, they originally offered $4200 and they
take it to auction.  I held out for a little over
$5100 and kept the car.  I spent about $600-700 for
parts, $2000 for labor & paint and now it is my daily
driver.  But I did the scouring for the used parts and
yanked them off the junkyard car myself.  A friend
with a PU truck got them over to the collision shop
where I worked out a deal with the owner.

If you look at those photos,
http://home.earthlink.net/~wmagliocco/wreck/ you can
assume (like I did) that if the exact same damage took
place on a '97 S6 (maybe an A6 too) they would have
fixed the car...same basic stuff, it all boils down to
that dismal science called ECONOMICS!


--- Dan DiBiase <d_dibiase at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Nope and nope... But if that's the only reason it
> would show up on Carfax,
> then their advertising is a bit disingenous, don't
> you think? They
> certainly imply that ANY type of accident will show
> up....
> 
> Dan D
> '04 A4 1.8T q MT-6
> Central NJ USA
> 
> PS Hope you don't mind me cc: q-list...(not at all
WPM)
> --- William Magliocco <magliocc at rocketmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Did the car get "totalled"????  did it have a
> salvage
> > title in your state?
> > 
> > That seems to be the key.


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes
http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus